Page 20 - Pierce County Lawyer - May June 2024

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Travel
The Trip of a Lifetime through France and Southern Spain
This past September, I took a ‘trip of a lifetime’ with my husband to France and Spain. We had long been planning this and focused most of our trip on some of
the roads less traveled, in search of food and wine culture plus a bit of outdoor activity along the way.
I studied abroad in Spain in college, so it was special to go back to that city where I had studied, and see many new areas as well.
We started our trip in Paris, with a quick exploration of the city in search of a croque madame (and coffee!). The next day we took a quick train ride to Reims, where we explored champagne caves and learned about the champagne-making process, which was far too scientific for my jet-lagged brain!
Champagne production tunnels in Reims
We wandered around Paris, seeing all the quintessential sights such as Arc de Triomphe and The Eiffel Tower. After a food tour on the Left Bank, we wandered around and got caught in some showers (just like home)! Even in the rain the Luxembourg Gardens were stunning, and some flowers were still in bloom. We topped off our first destination with
a gourmet meal with one of my dear friends from law school, who happened to be there in Paris at the same time.
Arc de Triomphe during a
sunbreak, and rainy but beautiful Luxembourg Gardens
Next, we were off to Lyon, a picturesque city framed by two rivers. Lyon is famous for its food, and we started our day with a tour of the food hall and took some tasty
By Hannah Gurewitz
snacks with us (my favorite was the brioche with almond praline - just a touch sweet and the perfect morning snack).
Our tour guide, Sebastian, showed us around his family’s winery in the Beaujolais, where a case of wine (you read that right, a case), was only 36 euro! Sadly for us, someone in our group, who definitely isn’t me, is a notorious overpacker, so we only took a few bottles home with us.
I had no idea, but Lyon
is home to many Roman ruins. We explored an amphitheater and some ancient baths. The city has many underground tunnels (Traboules), some of which remain open to the public
and were originally used for transporting goods. They were also used for secret meetings during World War II.
Lyon is home to some beautiful murals, and we got to pose with some of them (can you spot us?)
Our next stop was further
south, to explore another wine
region, Chateauneuf de Pape,
famous for their Rhone wine varietals. We saw some vines that were over a hundred years old! In the French countryside we went on a guided e-bike tour through the gorgeous, rolling hills. My favorite stop was at a windmill, where a family of cats was running the show.
Our final stop in France was on the French Riviera. This region instantly felt so Mediterranean it was hard to believe I was
not in Italy (though our tour guide pointed that out to us, just a few km away!). We enjoyed the sea, and took a day trip to Monaco. We arrived just in time for the changing of the guard at the palace, took a tour through the palace, and saw that the prince was home that day, per the raised flag. After a quick visit to the Casino Monte Carlo (which was surprisingly quiet!), we went on a ‘little hike’ to Eze (Eagle’s Nest), which boasted some of the most remarkable views of the Mediterranean I’ve ever seen. We treated ourselves to some frozen treats on the way down.
20 PIERCE COUNTY LAWYER | May/June 2024